White House moves to sharper, populist message to keep Democrats together in make-or-break agenda moment

As the President Joe Biden enters a make-or-break moment for his legislative agenda, the White House has moved toward a clear message for the Democrats it can't afford to lose: This is a simple choice.

The message -- that lawmakers are either with Biden or against him, for cutting costs or against them, for making real progress or reverting to the status quo -- has become more pronounced in public remarks from Biden and top White House officials just as lawmakers enter the most high-stakes moment of months of negotiations over infrastructure. It's also become a focal point of a behind-the-scenes push with congressional Democrats and key allies outside of government, driven by messaging and polling memos circulated by White House officials in the last two days, underscoring the ramped-up efforts to bring Democrats in line at the most fraught moment of the process.